Stephen Caruso, Pennsylvania Capital-Star

A Pennsylvania appeals court has struck down the commonwealth’s landmark 2019 mail-in voting law, though the near certainty of an appeal means voters might not notice a difference until the Supreme Court weighs in.

In a 49-page opinion issued by Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt on Friday morning, a five member panel of the court found 3-2 that the law, which allows all Pennsylvanians to vote by mail without an excuse, was unconstitutionally enacted as a statute, rather than being approved through the state’s long and rigorous constitutional amendment process.

“If presented to the people, a constitutional amendment to end the…requirement of in-person voting is likely to be adopted,” Leavitt wrote. “But a constitutional amendment must be presented to the people and adopted into our fundamental law before legislation authorizing no-excuse mail-in voting can ‘be placed upon our statute books.’”...

Mehmet Oz rose to fame telling millions of viewers to hand over their money to supplement companies selling products of questionable medical value.

Now, the Garden State resident and heart surgeon is asking for money for himself to underwrite his 2022 bid for the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat

And just like viewers hoping for a healthier life, if Oz’s political supporters aren’t mindful of the fine print, they may not know what they are agreeing to....

Democratic lawmakers walked out of a House Republican-run committee hearing on public sector unions Monday, claiming the hearing's focus was misplaced.

“This committee should be talking about ways to strengthen our workforce and getting people back to work," Rep. Gerald Mullery, D-Luzerne, said in brief remarks at the start of the hearing by the House Labor and Industry Committee, before leaving the committee room.

The meeting, organized by committee Chairperson Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks, featured testimony from Americans for Fair Treatment, a national group that supports placing extra restrictions on public sector unions, as well as the Fairness Center, a public interest law center that's filed more than a dozen legal challenges against those unions....

Marijuana legalization may hit partisan stumbling blocks in Harrisburg, but lawmakers in both parties have united around a new drug policy — letting Pennsylvania researchers look into how to use magic mushrooms to address mental health issues.

In a rare show of cross-party support, it is sponsored by 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats have thrown their support behind the proposal sponsored by Rep. Tracy Pennycuick, R-Montgomery.

And advocates and lawmakers say that if all goes well, it could reduce the stigma around mental health treatment and psychedelics while helping veterans and cutting care costs....

With the 2021 general election now closer than 2020's, Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to request identifying information on Pennsylvania's roughly 9 million registered voters as part of a legislative investigation of former President Donald Trump's loss.

The legal requests are the opening salvo in what could be a long, messy fight over the investigation, which was spurred by unverified claims of voter fraud that have been repeatedly rejected by federal judges, county elections officials, and even Trump's former attorney general.

The 17 subpoenas were approved in a party-line vote by the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee, a seldom-used panel that Republican leadership has turned into a vehicle for conducting their investigation....